Labor and Legality

Labor and Legality: An Ethnography of a Mexican Immigrant Network, Tenth Anniversary Edition, is an ethnography of undocumented immigrants who work as busboys at a Chicago-area restaurant. Ruth Gomberg-Muoz introduces readers to the Lions, ten friends from Mexico committed to improving their fortunes and the lives of their families. Set in and around "Il Vino," a restaurant that could stand in for many places that employ undocumented workers, The Tenth
Anniversary Edition of Labor and Legality reveals the faces behind the war being waged over "illegal immigrants" in America. Gomberg-Muoz focuses on how undocumented workers develop a wide range of social strategies to cultivate financial security, nurture emotional well-being, and promote their dignity and
self-esteem. She also reviews the political and historical circumstances of undocumented migration, with an emphasis on post-1970 socioeconomic and political conditions in the United States and Mexico.